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Lot Essay
"Coromandel" screens take their name from the Coromandel coast of India, where trading ports between China and Europe had been established. However, this is somewhat of a misnomer, as the actual production of these screens can be traced to China, whereas their distribution from Coromandel ports gave them their name. The origin of the folding screen can also be traced back to the ancient furniture tradition in China, where it was used as a backdrop, a space enclosure, or a room divider. It was also occasionally used in the modification of fengshui ambiance to disrupt harmful energies. These 'coromandel' screens can be found in six or eight panel-format, although grand examples with twelve panels, such as the present screen, are certainly well known. Their size and lavish decoration suggests that their owners would have been quite wealthy, with a residence well-suited to the impressive size of the screen.
During the Kangxi period, large twelve panel screens such as the present example were very popular, and served as decorative backdrops in the large formal rooms of these wealthy households. Such screens, adorned with auspicious blessings, were also customarily presented as gifts to distinguished individuals on special celebrations such as promotion, retirement, or an important birthday. The present screen depicts a scene from "A Bed-full of Tablets" - a Kangxi period dramatization of the Guo Ziyi legend. General Guo served four emperors during the Tang dynasty and was instrumental in quelling the An Shi rebellion. On his 60th birthday, so many family members and officials came to offer their congratulations, that his bed was literally covered with gifts of memorial tablets. As screens with this depiction are therefore associated with congratulatory and commemorative events, the depiction of Guo Ziyi is often found on screens made for presentation and which have lengthy inscriptions to the intended recipient by those who commissioned it. The present screen us no exception.
Compare a similar brown-ground twelve panel coromandel lacquer screen dated to 1687, carved with the same scene of the Guo Ziyi legend, sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2037. Note, however, the particularly bright colors of the present screen, and the exceptionally fine carving seen in the details.
During the Kangxi period, large twelve panel screens such as the present example were very popular, and served as decorative backdrops in the large formal rooms of these wealthy households. Such screens, adorned with auspicious blessings, were also customarily presented as gifts to distinguished individuals on special celebrations such as promotion, retirement, or an important birthday. The present screen depicts a scene from "A Bed-full of Tablets" - a Kangxi period dramatization of the Guo Ziyi legend. General Guo served four emperors during the Tang dynasty and was instrumental in quelling the An Shi rebellion. On his 60th birthday, so many family members and officials came to offer their congratulations, that his bed was literally covered with gifts of memorial tablets. As screens with this depiction are therefore associated with congratulatory and commemorative events, the depiction of Guo Ziyi is often found on screens made for presentation and which have lengthy inscriptions to the intended recipient by those who commissioned it. The present screen us no exception.
Compare a similar brown-ground twelve panel coromandel lacquer screen dated to 1687, carved with the same scene of the Guo Ziyi legend, sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2037. Note, however, the particularly bright colors of the present screen, and the exceptionally fine carving seen in the details.